I Dont Dance
by Books In the Blood
Summary: The Doctor finds himself doing a lot of things lately that he has never done before. He cant figure out why his very nature seems to be changing. But he suspects that it might have something to do with a pink and yellow human girl who likes it when he dances.


This little fic was inspired by the song "I Dont Dance" by Lee Brice. I thought that it was the perfect Nine/Rose song, not only because of the not dancing, the whole lyrics I felt described the Doctor's falling for Rose :) It gave me feels and since I cant make fan videos, I did was what I can do; write something. Hope you enjoy, thanks for reading!

_"__I'll never settle down,_

_That's what I always thought_

_Yeah, I was that kind of man,_

_Just ask anyone"_

When I walk into the console room, it doesn't always look my room anymore. The console room has always been mine; it's _my _TARDIS, _my _domain. I'm a man of simple tastes and few needs so it has always been clean, pristine, utilitarian.

Except that a lot of times it isn't anymore. Like right now; pink jumpers and too tight jeans draped on the rails, half empty cups of tea way too close to my console, ridiculous human tabloids strung across the floor. And if I find one more pair of lacy knickers, my superior respiratory bypass might be done for. It's a sight that normally would send me running for the nearest exit; or rather looking for the nearest habitual planet to drop my too domestic companion. She's _moved in…_and I don't do domestic. There's a reason I travel constantly; a nomadic life does not meet a domestic one.

But for some reason I don't feel that same unnatural, pressing panic that I normally feel when I realize things have gone too far. Why?

Because sitting on the jump seat, reading a book in her jimjams is a pink and yellow human girl who I can't seem to shake. I've tried, believe me. But no amount of trying can stop the quickening of my pulse, the rushing of my blood and undeniable excitement that floods through me just at seeing _her. _

"There you are sleepyhead, thought you'd sleep all morning. Normally you never sleep at all." Rose says with a slight laugh as she looks up from her book and notices me walking around the room taking in her numerous possessions flooding my room. "Sorry about the mess…I'll clean it up" she says with a cheesy grin, interpreting, wrongly, where my thoughts have gone.

"Don't worry…make yourself at home" I say with a small smile. And I actually mean it.

I'm done for….

_"__I don't dance, But here I am_

_Spinning you around and around in circles_

_It Ain't my style, but I don't care_

_I'd do anything with you anywhere_

_Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand_

_Cause, I don't dance"_

An opera…of all things she could have picked, she picked an opera. I asked her where she wanted to go, all of time and space at her disposal and she wanted to spend hours cooped up in an opera hall with hundreds of other humans watching people dance and sing in a language she doesn't understand. When I asked her why she wanted to go, she gave that smile. That weak-in-the-knees-jelly-feet smile as she said, "I've never been to one." It was so innocent and young, so full of life and excitement for the unknown that I couldn't say no. So, for that reason I agreed to sit still in an uncomfortable chair in a too-warm room bored out of my mind.

And wearing a tux….

I hate tuxes; not only because they are by far one of the most uncomfortable items of clothing in the galaxy but because something bad always seems to happen when I wear one. It has bad omen written all over it. Why am I not just wearing my jumper and leather? There's nothing wrong with it…

"And no getting out of it this time" Rose had said with a cheeky smile and a finger pointed at me. "You expect me all done up, you have to be done up too"

And that's the reason I'm in the world's most uncomfortable clothing ever…..

I'm already pulling at the ever-too-tight bowtie around my neck in the console room waiting for Rose when I feel it. I can feel Rose enter a room before I see her because the room instantly gets warmer, brighter…_more alive…._I'm smiling before I even turn around.

And she's _so…..beautiful….._The gorgeous, red gown flows from her shoulders down to her feet, accentuating every wonderful curve of her figure, the deep neck of it showing enough of her perfect, creamy skin to send my hearts both into overdrive. It's all worth it; the tux, the opera, the uncomfortable shoes and the old ladies with way too much perfume. It's all worth it because it affords me the chance to see her like this; beautiful and beaming at me.

"You look beautiful" I say and I know my mouth must be hanging open but I don't care.

Rose's cheeks turn a small shade deeper of red, biting her lip. "Beautiful for a human, right?" she asks, mirroring the stupid comment I once said to cover up how pretty I thought she was.

But not this time. "No" I say, pouring all of my soul and hearts into my words. "You just look beautiful"

She hugs me then and I'm done for…..

_"__Love's never come my way,_

_I've never been this far_

_Cause you took these two left feet_

_And waltzed away with my heart"_

It was one of the worst nightmares I had ever had; considering night terrors were a commonplace incident on the few nights I slept that was saying a lot. I woke up shaking, covered in sweat and feeling a disconcerting sense of fear. It was dark in the room, suddenly too dark and the TARDIS adjusted the lights for me accordingly. I heard a tapping on my door; already so on the alert, I jumped from the sound.

"Doctor? Can I come in?" Rose's voice asked hesitantly from the other side of my bedroom door.

I forced my mind to work and pull out of the haze the dream had reduced me to. Rose had never come to my room and certainly not in the middle of the night. If she was here, then something must have been wrong.

Filled with fear of an entirely different kind, I climbed out of bed and rushed to the door, wrenching it open in record speed; there was an urgency in me at the prospect that something could be wrong with Rose. When I saw Rose standing in the doorway in her pyjamas, her hair tousled from sleep, she looked alright at first glance but it didn't take my fear away.

"Rose? Are you okay?" I asked as calmly as I could manage in my sleep addled, worry ridden brain.

"Well, that's what I was coming to ask you" Rose said, her voice cracking from lack of use in sleep, her face full of worry.

"What?" I asked. My normally fully capable mind felt too slow.

Rose's face paled slightly. "You were screaming…..I could hear you from my room" she said, her voice trembling with fear.

My stomach felt sick and my voice left me for a moment. She was scared; I had scared her. Emotions swirled through me at the realization that my nightmares had actually caused me to scream out so loud that Rose could hear me. I hated that she had been afraid, hated that she knew of the pain I tried to keep so silent. I should have told her I was fine; I should have told her that it was just a nightmare and sent her away back to her room. It's what I would have done to others before I met her, before she began to change me in so many subtle ways. But she's so small, so breakable and yet so confident….she was looking at me with genuine concern and worry and her worry for me brought the memories back.

The burning…..the _screaming…_the feel of millions of Gallifreyan consciousness going out after I had made the decision to end them. I had felt their pain as they had burned, felt despair and loss and fear…..before I felt nothing at all. For the first time in my life, my mind had been silent…._so silent…._there was no one left. I was the only one left. And it terrified me. It still terrifies me.

And before I realize what I'm doing, I have grabbed Rose; I put my arms around her so quick and so tightly that she gasps slightly before she reaches to embrace me back. Pain floods through me so hard, in the way I normally only let it when I'm alone and I clutch Rose in desperation; she can sense it.

"Doctor…it's alright" Rose assures me, hugging me tightly and rubbing back in comfort. "It's okay….."

It's not okay….she knows I'm the last of my people; I told her that the first day we traveled together because even then I somehow knew she was special. But I didn't tell her what I'd done, the pain I suffered…how broken it made me. I'm not okay; I may never be. But in that moment all I choose to focus on are the warm arms around me, the ones who hold me and the whisper in my ear that it's okay. Rose makes everything better.

"Do you want to talk about it, Doctor?" Rose asks after a while. My throat is burning and my eyes sting so I don't trust myself to speak. I reluctantly pull back and look into her eyes; worried but open and hopeful. I still can't speak so I just take her hand in mine like I have done countless times.

When I pull her toward my bed, she doesn't even hesitate. The moment I lay down, she's instantly behind me, wrapping her arms around me in comfort. She's smaller than me but in this moment, I feel myself melt against her, wishing to hide myself away in her perfect, innocent humanness.

I've never been this far; to have a companion in my bed is unheard of. It's not like any of the many fantasies I've had on the moment. There's no passion, no pulling at clothes, no rush of hormones that make you intoxicated with need; there's only compassion and care and gentleness. There's a human beside me that tries to understand, who forgives me for what I've done without even realizing it. There's a girl in my bed who cares for me, who when I cry silently in the dark pretends that she doesn't notice.

I've never been this far with anyone; I've never trusted anyone this much before. I think it's called love. And I am done for.

_"__No, I don't dance, but here I am_

_Spinning you around and around in circles_

_It ain't my style, but I don't care_

_I'd do anything with you anywhere_

_Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand, girl_

_Cause, I don't dance"_

I don't dance; the activity can be embarrassing, dangerously romantic or just plain ridiculous. Don't get me wrong; I _can _dance, I just choose not to. Even for Rose I might have said no to the whole matter.

But today was a scary day. And I don't mean the nanogene gas mask people or the potential for Nazi bomb attack. I mean Jack…I could see the way Rose looked when she spoke about him.

_He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you. Except with dating and dancing. _I liked the bit about her trusting Jack because he was like me (even though I think he's nothing like me at all) but I was not crazy about the other bit.

Dating and dancing…I felt something like jealously creep into my hearts at that moment even though that was ridiculous. Rose isn't mine at all…but…..

_I want her to be…._

I suppose I have to admit that even to myself; that no matter how much I try to deny it, I want Rose and not just as a companion. I want her ways that would likely make her cheeks blush, in ways that make me a terrible person. But I also want her in ways that mean I think I would die if she ever left me. I love her.

Under the threat of Jack moving in and wooing Rose, I had to prove myself. I told Rose I danced, even that I had moves. I forgot about the fact that I don't dance because if Rose wants to dance, that means I am the type of man that does dance. I still curse Jack's timing at teleporting us at that precise moment. Rose's hand was in mine, her voice low…_actually flirting with me…_then Jack had to ruin it. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing, he had said; yeah, I bet he would have liked that. But the moment was passed and Rose's attention was once more on him than me; I was forced to sit over to the side and sulk like a child in time out.

But there's one thing you can do in time out; think. And that's what I did. I thought about Rose and how many missed opportunities I've had with her. I thought about how she has changed me in so many ways. Whatever she says goes; she has me completely wrapped around her finger. It's a scary place to be in and I avoided it for a long time but I can't ignore the feelings anymore.

So, now that it's late and Jack is in the room I showed him to for his (short) stay here. Rose went to her own room long ago and I only hope that she hasn't gone to sleep yet. I could wait until morning; maybe I should. But I'm not going to; something about this day, this very good day where everyone actually lived, has made me feel the need to seize the opportunities I have. And I plan to dance with Rose Tyler without any interruptions from Jack.

When I knock on Rose's door she comes to it quickly, a smile on her face. Her hair is wet like she just got out of the shower and she smells clean. She's wearing those short sleep shorts that I'm convinced are a few sizes too small, the ones that make my hearts beat. She looks surprised to see me but pleased too.

"What's up?" she asks, tossing the towel aside she was using to dry her hair. She's at ease, calm; it comes off of her like a wave. She has no idea there's something like a fire building inside me, out of control.

"Someone owes me a dance…..one that our fake captain can't interrupt" I say before I can lose my nerve. I place my hands on Rose's hips and pull her close; she seems surprised for a moment before she places her hands around my neck and we begin to sway slowly. There's no music, only the calm hum of the TARDIS. And somehow that's perfect.

Rose's eyes are on me, a smile widening on her face as she watches me, moving slowly in a dance. "Jack bothers you doesn't he?" she asks with a mischievous smile. She knows; she can see through me. Just like always…and I don't even care. My hands are on her perfect curves, she's smiling at me, all attention focused solely on me. Whatever she is thinking is the truth.

"I told you I could dance…had to give you a proper demonstration." I say, avoiding the question but Rose smiles widely anyway.

"Feel free to give me a demonstration anytime, jealous time lord" Rose says, sly satisfaction in her voice. "Maybe I'll eventually be convinced that you do dance"

I pull her in close, relishing every touch of her skin, the subtle sound of the beat of her heart that she doesn't know I can hear and feel a sigh inside my soul. I _don't _dance.

But for my Rose Tyler, I can do anything.


End file.
